Meta

preparation

To them, they ‘see’ their ‘friends’ as real people. They confide in them. They are content for hours spending time with them.

They talk with them, eat with them, play with them- as if they are REAL people.

Little children are given great imaginations by God! They love to sit on the floor and pretend real life situations and act them out.

They make up stories, acting out with dolls, or toy cars, or they ‘play’ house or doctor, policeman, cowboy etc.

Many times when my children were little, they’d say “Mommy, come play with me!”

And quickly they’d assign me a position-a role to act out “You be the mommy, I’ll be the baby.”

Without effort on their part, they’d come up with the most natural conversations as they play-acted. But for me, it was not as easy to ‘pretend’ anymore as a grown up.

I loved watching my children play alone content with their ‘imaginary friends.’

They’d be oblivious to me standing in the doorway,observing their conversations, lost in play as if I was the invisible one and their ‘friend’ was more real than me.

I believe God gave little children the gift of imagination, and especially imagination friends for a reason.

It teaches them at a young age to be comfortable with themselves talking out loud to an ‘invisible’ yet very important figure in their life they believe to be real.

Colossians 1:15 (NLT) “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation”

The gift of a childlike imagination is from God. Children have innate unquestionable faith. They ‘see’ with the pure, undefiled eyes of faith.

Playtime for a little child with an unseen ‘real’ friend, is prayer preparation time with an unseen REAL God!

I believe God gave little children the gift of imaginary friends to allow them to grow comfortable talking out loud to their unseen friend/s, so that without question they will be able to ‘see’ Jesus, and talk with God whom they can’t see, but know is there.

When we ‘see’ Jesus as our real, personal living friend- when we become comfortable as as child talking with Him openly and anything and everything- we will ‘become as a child.’

“And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3)